[Chris Bisha and Chris Skebo contributed]
Now that we have bid a fond farewell to 2024, it’s time to look back at our top long-playing releases of the year. These are albums that have enjoyed heavy rotation in our CD players, on our turntables, and on our favorite streaming platforms. This list is pure, unaldulterated opinion – a mere sampling of 360°Sound’s top albums of 2024, presented in alphabetical order.
Exit Emotions – Blind Channel
Nü metal is enjoying something of a renaissance, and Finland’s “Backstreet Boys of the metal scene” are dialing it in following their success at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021 with the single “Dark Side.” Blind Channel’s 2024 release, Exit Emotions, is streaming like crazy around the world, and delivers another heavy dose of their high-intensity hip-hop metal that really does throw off a boy-band vibe. We met up with them at SXSW last spring – check out some performance video below, and read our interview with frontmen Joel & Nico. –CB
X’s – Cigarettes after Sex
Cigarettes After Sex are from Texas and play in a dream pop style, featuring frontperson Greg Gonzalez and his signature shoegaze vocals. My kids turned me on to these guys a while back, and I love the super-chill vibe of this record. X’s plows similar earth to their previous two long-players, but I like the contemplative nature of listening to a record that can transport me to a place of feeling, knowing, and mystery. I listened to this more than expected this past year. –CB
The Thief Next to Jesus – Ka
Loaded with gospel samples, this is the ninth and final work released by Ka before his death on October 12, 2024. The theme of the record centers around Christianity and its link to African Americans. The samples and lo-fi production give the album a very ghostly presentation, with Ka’s voice front and center like a clarion. Very much a throwback to the great mixtapes of the ’80s. –CS
GNX – Kendrick Lamar
Produced mainly by Jack Antonoff and Sounwave, the sixth studio album by Lamar is nothing short of excellence in this genre. Too many guests to list hear, but standout appearances by Kamasi Washington, SZA and Roddy Ricch highlight a list of outstanding contributions. Lamar has been serving up bangers for years and this one is no exception. –CS
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis – The Messthetics
The beautiful cross-section of jazz and punk, where two members of Fugazi, one jazz saxophonist, and a creative-music guitarist all come together as something far more than the sum of its parts. Lewis fits seamlessly into the already established Messthetics and adds a new depth and dimension to their brand of punk-jazz. Jazzheads will love this record while it is completely accessible to the non-jazz person alike. –CS
Small Fires – Old Heavy Hands
The five-piece Southern rock band Old Heavy Hands hails from Greensboro, NC, and they bring their big “y’allternative” energy to their latest release. Small Fires was produced by Danny Fonorow and engineered by Ted Comerford and Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Pavement, Wilco). Nate James Hall and Larry Wayne Slaton, Old Heavy Hands’ primary songwriters, took time from their tattoo artist day jobs to leave it all on the dancefloor. –CB
Dark Matter – Pearl Jam
Eddie Vedder recently celebrated his 60th birthday, but these old farts can still bring it. Pearl Jam may be a legacy act at this point, but this is not nostalgia; the band are committed to making new music that rocks hard and pushes their creative boundaries. “Dark Matter” has as much power as anything they’ve recorded. “Waiting for Stevie” gets super jammy. My favorite, “React/Respond,” features a mature lyric about how to deal with conflict. And their live show remains absolute bucket-list stuff. –CB
Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace – Shabaka
Shabaka has become a force in the spiritual jazz world – perhaps the second coming of Pharoah Sanders for a new generation. His message of spiritual unity and peace appeals to people of all ages, gender, and race. On this album, Shabaka abandons his saxophone (except for track 8) and picks up the clarinet, shakuhachi, and flute. He is joined by some heavy-hitters as well: Jason Moran, Nasheet Waits, Carlos Niño, Brandee Younger, Moses Sumney, Esperanza Spalding, André 3000, Floating Points, and Marcus Gilmore to name a few. A monster record and one of the most beautiful albums released this year. –CS
Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th Street – Swamp Dogg
Soul pioneer Jerry Williams, aka Swamp Dogg, had a good year. There was a great documentary released with him as its subject, Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted (read our interview with the directors here), and he released an album of bluegrass-inspired new music. Of Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th Street, Swamp commented, “Not a lot of people talk about the true origins of bluegrass music, but it came from Black people. The banjo, the washtub, all that stuff started with African Americans. We were playing it before it even had a name.” Recorded with an A-list of bluegrass cats that includes Jerry Douglas, Swamp Dogg blurs the lines between folk, roots, country, blues, and soul. –CB
No Name – Jack White
The sixth studio album by Jack White came out of nowhere. First released in a guerrilla fashion by the staff at Third Man Records’ Detroit store front, white vinyl copies in white plain sleeves magically found their way into shopping bags when making other purchases. A few weeks later, some tiny club shows and a proper album release were announced. Jack pulled off something that few believed could be done again – high-profile artist secretly releases album in dark of night. And it’s fantastic. –CS
